brolandfandomcom-20200215-history
Broland Game Mechanic
The Broland Game Mechanic is the system, rules, and conventions that the world of Broland runs on. Broland is a play-by-post system, set up between the Game Master and the heads of prominent factions within the Broland world. It is not necessarily cooperative; PC to PC relations can be anything from friendly to antagonistic. Due to the nature of the game, it may be difficult to recognize other PC factions at all, if contact is made. Faction Page Every PC is allowed access to a hidden Facebook group to which only he and God (AHGA) may view. The Game Master and the PC post events and other relevant pieces of information to this page, and it contains a record of every action the PC has taken. Important events, speculation, and conversations with the GM may take place in private chat, though these things are not really "set in stone" until posted on the main board. The title of the page is usually something related to the command structure of the particular faction it represents, and the page banner generally contains the faction's flag. There is also a "main" page, entitled Broland Roleplaying, which acts as a common area in which PCs can post amusing messages, pictures, answer questions, or generally brag about their exploits. The banner of this page changes periodically, but currently displays a map of Broland. Generally, it has a representation of all the major PC factions on it, depending on how much Copaczin knows about those factions. Posts to the faction page fall under two main categories: Missions, and Management. There are other valid posts, such as requests that the GM send certain youtube videos to any PC who encounters certain locations, or various in-jokes or attempts to add depth to the faction and prominent characters within it. However, most of the important gameplay will occur through those two different types of post. Missions The main threads are the Mission threads. They usually begin with the Game Master posting some flavour text as introduction, and the PC responding however he sees fit. Most of the action takes place in the Mission threads, which can grow to a length in excess of a hundred posts. Missions tend to take a month, or perhaps two (see below for the Broland time scale). See Game Master for general guidelines on choosing actions. Usually missions are initiated by the player character, as the other factions of Broland passively react to PC actions, rather than having any agency of their own, though there have been exceptions. Management Management posts usually do not get their own thread, but rather attach onto the main Mission threads. This helps provide a sort of timescale, and keeps from cluttering up the main page with new threads. Either way, the GM seems to prefer this method. Management threads are for the most part upkeep, or cultural/historical development, and unlike Mission posts, they are usually initiated by the Player Character. Management posts usually deal with either reorganizing work slots or other such system changes, or adding cultural or historical nuances to the PC faction, deciding on "theme music" for various military units or locations, or developing OCs (Original Characters). Generally, Management posts will need to be updated about once an in-game month. Gameplay There are a number of systems in play to place fair and non-arbitrary limits on what a faction can and cannot realistically do with its resources. Note that most of these were developed on-the-fly in response to various issues during gameplay. Work Slots Work slots represent resources, infrastructure, and a faction's general ability to get things done. A PC faction will have multiple work-slots which can be filled with whatever projects a faction is willing to invest a significant number of resources to acomplish. Each faction is allowed a (mostly) static number of work slots per month, which represent an investment of resources. You cannot 'save up' work slots, as they not only represent money or materials, but also personnel and labor - if they are not used, they go to waste. The acquisition of a new work slot is always an important event, equivalent to "leveling up" in other RPGs. When the Game Master sees fit to award a new work slot, it shows that He believes the PC faction has gained a significant amount of influence, a steady supply of resources, expanded in some way, or has generally accomplished an important goal. These are at the GM's disgression, and therefore ther is no tangible way to determine the quickest route to a new work slot. Missions can fill work slots, though they do not have to. Missions that require a serious investment of time or resources on the part of the faction always require a work slot, whereas Missions which require minimal effort and preparation do not, though, if at some future point they do ''require effort or resources, then the faction will have to spend a work slot on them. The dividing line between Missions which require work slots and those which do not is fuzzy and subjective, depending on the whim of the GM nd the relative power and 'reach' of the faction, a quality which does not directly correlate to number of work slots. Other, non-Mission projects can also fill work slots (Management). These include anything that a nation could realistically do internally. Civic improvement and R&D are popular choices for Management projects, though Management is not limited to that. Other options for Management projects include short, internal troop movements, and any sort of mass production or construction endeavor. As with Missions, Management projects may or may not require a work slot, depending on the size of the undertaking and the relative power of the faction. Tech Tree Every faction has its own tech tree of varying bredth and depth. In order to advance along the Tech Tree, a faction ''must spend a work slot. It is possible to gather technology through other means, such as scavenging or buying it. However, these pieces will not be a part of the tech tree, and the faction will not be able to mass-produce the technology, or expand upon it. However, it is much, much easier and less expensive to simply scavenge technology (particularly pre-war tech, which is liable to be much more effective than anything post-war) and reverse-engineer it than to try to build it from scratch. Depending on the faction's relative skill at reverse engineering and general understanding of the material invovled, the extent to which this pays off is variable. Specialists There is a third way to advance the tech tree. There are also a number of specialists in various locations within Broland. These men and women are experts within their field, scientists and engineers and professors. Specialists are relatively rare - simply being a scientist does not mean that a particular NPC is a Specialist. As such, most are already in the pay of various powerful factions, whether NPC or PC, and acquiring them can be difficult. If the specialists can somehow be convinced to join up with the PC faction (whether via coersion or other methods), they donate all their knowledge to the faction's pool, and that PC is now able to take advantage of the Specialists' particular area of expertise. Depending on how small the overlap is between the faction's tech tree and the Specialist's area of expertise, this may be an incredible boon. This usually comes in the form of scientific knowledge of some sort, usually pre-war in nature or source, though it doesn't have to. Most Specialists must be acquired during play at some point. If a PC loses a Specialist, he loses all associated benefits and abilities. However, he still has access to the technologies and manufacturing processes acquired through the Specialist, and does not lose any technologies from his tech tree. He simply loses the driving mind behind all these breakthroughs; it is possible, through work and generous application of work slots, to train scientists to fill in the gaps left by the Specialist. Mass Updates Time within Broland progresses within jumps of about a month, or perhaps two months in order to keep the various factions synchronized. This is especially important during PC-to-PC interactions, though as illustrated by the Butterfly Effect, a higher level of PC-to-PC syncrhonization is optimal, especially if one faction decides it's a good idea to continually transmit declarations via radio. When each faction has completed all that they set out to accomplish that month, God (AHGA) sends out a mass update to each Faction Page, explaining how their various projects turned out, incorporating a bit of flavour text, and advancing the in-game clock. It's a good idea to decide the new arrangement of work slots at this point, if at least to let the GM know what direction you want to take your faction this month.